Sure, we all love Disney for their animations and feature films... but Disney is so much more!

The first Disney park was opened in Anaheim, California in 1955.

Quote

"To all who come to this happy place: -Welcome- Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past ... and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America ... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."—Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955 4:43pm

Disney's source of joy and inspiration has since then indeed been spread to all the world. There are currently five Disney resorts spread across the world;

In addition to the parks there's also the Disney Vacation Club, where members buy real estate interest and stay in deluxe accommodations at over 500 Disney destinations.

There's also the Disney Cruise Line with a wide selection of destinations. They've got cruises in Europe, Alaska & Pacific Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal, and even a transatlantic cruise!

Imagineering!

Quote from: Wikipedia

The imagineers are the people who bring you the magic. Walt Disney Imagineering (also known as WDI or simply Imagineering) is the design and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide. The department was founded by Walt Disney in 1952 to oversee the production of Disneyland Park.The term Imagineering comes from Walt Disney’s blending of the words imagination and engineering, representing the skill set embodied by the employees of WDI. These employees, known as Imagineers, are renowned for their ability to blend creativity, expertise, and technological advancements like Audio-Animatronics to create “distinctive experiential storytelling”.

The Imagineers often add their own personal signatures to the rides they create, and they place out so-called hidden Mickeys for fans to look for!

Quote from: Hidden Mickeys Guide

A hidden Mickey is a partial or complete impression of Mickey Mouse placed by the Imagineers and artists to blend into the designs of Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other areas.

The most common Hidden Mickey form is the tri-circle Mickey frontal silhouette: three circles that form Mickey’s round head and adjoining round ears.

Other images include a side or oblique (usually three-quarter) profile of Mickey’s face and head, a side profile of his entire body, a full-body frontal silhouette, a detailed picture of his face or body, or a three-dimensional Mickey. Sometimes, just his gloves, handprints, shoes or ears appear. Even his name or initials in unusual places may qualify as Hidden Mickeys. And don’t forget other characters such as Hidden Minnies, Donald Ducks, Goofys, etc.

... I really hope I'm not the only Disney dork here .

Let's discuss Imagineering and other random things relating to Disney that isn't necessarily to do with their films (let's try and keep those discussions for the Disney films thread)!

Let's enjoy Imagineering from today! (... I've been studying and reading too much Japanese lately. Halp).

I've been to Disney World, Disneyland (Paris), Tokyo Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea. I hope to some day be able to go to Disneyland (California) and Hong Kong Disneyland too~! Would of course be fun to visit all the other related parks as well (Epcot, etc.)... but I'm not made of money, unfortunately T_T;

My absolute dream vacation would be to take the transatlantic Disney Cruise to the US, go to Disney World, then rent a car, drive all across the US and end my vacation at Disneyland \0/

My Tokyo Disney adventure was kind of crazy xD I went there twice... in one week so, so worth it, though It was during Christmas so they had Christmas music blasting everywhere constantly and Haunted Mansion still had its Halloween decorations up and was re-done as a Nightmare Before Christmas ride for the occasion (not as fun as the original Haunted Mansion, but still awesome). There was also special Christmas parades and Christmas shows

And then I visited DisneySea as well. An extremely beautiful park, with a lot of fun rides. And a complete Agrabah! I was lucky enough to have Princess Jasmine dance around on the Agrabah carousel while I was riding it ;_;!!!

Aaaah Disney memories.

Haha.

I keep up with the Disney Parks blog and fangirl over rides I probably won't be able to ride for years (if at all) xD

I've got over 10 hours of Disney music stored away in various places, including a lot of the music used in the various theme parks

My favourite rides are Splash Mountain and It's a Small World. Yeah, I'm all about the classic rides. Oh and bie (my boyfriend) has managed to convince me that Haunted Mansion is pretty damn awesome too. It's by far his favourite ride, we rode it like five times when we went to Disneyland Paris

OMGASS I love Disney rides. Disneyland is my favorite place in the world, even tho i only been there three times, twice as a kid and last in 2006 with my HiPster buddies. Lol like I was in Los Angeles and Orlando the past two years but never got a chance to go, too busy pimping!!

The California park seems so different from all the other ones! In that it's got more "normal" rides in addition to all the Disney rides. The California park is the one I know the least about, so I'd love to learn more about it ^_^

That coaster has a loop, but still looks like so much fun! I'd love to go on that one \0/

I videotaped some rides at Tokyo Disneyland. Unfortunately it was a brand new camera, so I hadn't used it much yet..... so I ended up getting a lot of ceiling footage XDDD I'll try to make better videos next time I go!

Anyway this is what It's A Small World sounds like during Christmas

(again.. really, really sorry about mostly filming the ceiling T___T It gets a lot better about 3 minutes in xD)

ooh! I went to Disneyland! It was fun!Although the first ride I went on was that log ride and my jeans were kinda wet and cold for the rest of the day lol. But then one of the crazy locals arrived and showed us all the cool rides : DMy favourite was the Indiana Jones ride! And Space Mountain was fun too and the Matterhorn and the Rickety Train ride (dunno what it's called).

I took some pics lol probably can't see but I was wet from the log ride here, it was freezing

Me and my bro thought this was hilarious ahhahaha, they must be on somekind of rail or something under the water I guess but still it looks like it's gonna sink and the staff chick at the front was paddling so hard the whole way it looked like she was paddling for everyone.

Oh! I have a Splash Mountain vid I just found it haha I forgot I took that, I'll upload it.

Me and my bro thought this was hilarious ahhahaha, they must be on somekind of rail or something under the water I guess but still it looks like it's gonna sink and the staff chick at the front was paddling so hard the whole way it looked like she was paddling for everyone.

No, that canoe ride is exactly what it seems like. People canoeing about. There's a set course, but there's no rails or anything. I went on this ride in Tokyo Disneyland, and I've never laughed so much in my life, oh my god xD I thought I was going to fall out, because I kept laughing. The first time I visited the Tokyo Disney park I went there with my mum, my boyfriend, and some friends of mine. We all got into one canoe, so it was like GAIJIN INVASION This poor cast member (people working in the Disney parks are called cast members ^_^ ) tried telling us what to do, and then went all, "omg awesome" when we started talking to him in Japanese. He started by going "Yeah you're here to enjoy yourself and ride rides, huh? Well on this one YOU DO ALL THE WORK!". He shouted out instructions, but we all sucked at paddling the thing. It was hard! My mum just kind of gave up, and the guy kept shouting back to her "HEY, HEY, THIS IS NO TIME FOR TAKING A BREAK~~~~~~" while struggling like hell to paddle all of us around (he was laughing too, don't worry, it was all good fun). xD It was a bit awkward, and we all pretty much went "omg we're so sorry~" when we got off xD;;; Though we kind of also wanted to do it again. Heeee.

... the cast members working that ride must build up such muscles @___@ I can't even begin to imagine having to paddle that ride all day long. My arms got sore from my one poor little attempt xD

Woah The Matterhorn That's one of the rides that's specific to the California park, isn't it? I think so~ Haven't seen it in any of the parks I've been to ^^;

Space Mountain is fun, my favourite version is the one in Disney World (Florida). The one in Paris scared the crap out of me, and it had lots of loops and such @____@ aaaah.

Indiana Jones ride! Lucky~ I haven't been able to get on that one yet. It was closed for renovation when I went to DisneySea ;_; and it broke down during my visit to the Paris park, so yeeeah. Tough luck :/

Let's look at the newest Disneyland attraction! It premiered a couple of weeks ago, and man I really hope to be able to see this show in person some day. It looks absolutely spectacular. Pictures and info collected from the Disney Parks blog.

World of Color - Disneyland, California

This attraction is a combination of animation, light, and... most of all, nearly 1200 fountains!

Here's a presentation of the different kinds of fountains that make this attraction tick;

Chaser FountainsMore than 400 Chaser Fountains create lightning-fast effects that “chase” each other in rapid-fire succession. Like the action stars they are, these fountains allow booming beads of water to be projected up to 80 feet high.

Dancer FountainsThese six co-stars create swirling dual nozzles that intertwine streams of water. Like a dancing couple from a classic Hollywood musical, their ease and grace create unforgettable moments of choreographed dancing water magic.

Dual Water Whip FountainsTheir repertory includes not only vertical patterns but also wider, fan-like designs. In theatre parlance, these 65 fountains can “change costumes” and become the ultimate 19,000 sq ft. water screen cyclorama on Paradise Bay.

Flower Spout FountainsHere are a dozen actors with dramatic range. These fountains can shoot high-velocity streams of big, frothy water and then easily transition the shape of those streams into a “blooming” 60-foot-wide flower petal.

Geyser FountainsWith Diva-like attitude they can launch 40 gallons of water at once, announcing their presence with a distinct authority. These 10 fountains live up to their name (and reputation) by being the most powerful; each Geyser can shoot huge bursts of water more than 200 feet into the sky.

Grid FountainsThese performers comprise a network of grids that create a vast “ensemble cast.” Positioned eight-feet apart, these vertical fountains are capable of firing water up to 40 feet in the air. Their specialty is creating massive, three-dimensional designs, like a whale moving through the Paradise Bay.

Single Water Whip FountainsOur 75 star ballerinas are the most elegant and graceful featured in World of Color and perform a mesmerizing ballet. With independently moving heads that can sway in any direction and project water more than 100 feet in a vertical pattern.

The attraction comes with it's own line of souvenirs and snacks, including awesome cherry, blueberry, and plum flavoured popcorn!

Unfortunately I can't embed videos from the Disney Parks blog, but here are some links~!

- World of Color press event4-minute video that covers just about everything you might want to know about the show and also includes some interviews from the key people involved with “World of Color.”

Love that Splash Mountain picture I should find both of mine (one from 2001 when I went to Disney World, and one from 2007 when I went to Tokyo Disneyland), scan them and post them~~~ Disneyland Paris doesn't have Splash Mountain! FOR SHAME! xD

The Indiana Jones gift shop has such random things xD We bought ponchos there 8]

Oh wow, the California Park is split into two parks? Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Park o_o; I had no idea Seems like World of Color is in the Adventure Park~! Aw man, I guess that means I have to visit both parks if I ever get to go over there xD Auugh. DISNEY STEALING ALL MY MONEY ;____;!

Wonder what new rides they got now? Fen said it was Finding Nemo, they really "movie-ized" their classic rides to adapt to current movies, like the Pirates of Caribbean is now Johnny Depp and friends.

Yeeeah :/ I don't like the trend of "fixing up" old classic rides in order to incorporate stuff from new film versions or whatever. They had added in the Jack Sparrow animatronic at Tokyo Disneyland, and while funny and scarily life-like it felt completely unnecessary T_T; Apart from being able to see Jack Sparrow a couple of times during the ride (and I think Captain Barbossa as well?) the ride was still the same, so it's not that it made a lot of difference anyway *shrug* They hadn't added in any of the film stuff to the Pirates ride in Paris, though! Was a nice surprise when I went there~

As for Finding Nemo stuff, the California Disneyland has an attraction called Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage... and there's a Crush's Coaster in Disneyland Paris. Turtle Talk With Crush opened up in 2009 in Tokyo DisneySea (though both these rides probably exist in the US parks as well). Turtle Talk sounds really interesting in that it's an interactive show and an animated Crush (by the help of some cast members) interacts directly with the audience (as in answers questions, etc) I think I might want to check it out if we go to DisneySea this summer~~~!

This morning we put the finishing touches on the most "intense" paper sculpture I've done to date. Five feet long and 2 feet high, hand-cut, curled, folded, and embossed papers - and a handful of wooden dowels and such - assembled into a mini-mural of early Disneyland treats.

We made every attempt to pack in all our favorites from the Park's fledgling years, from the Moonliner Rocket to the Hall of Chemistry, Fort Wilderness to the Silver Banjo. Jungle Cruise, Indian Village, Conestoga Wagons, Skyway Chalet, Astrojets, Casey Jr, and those cool tripod-lamp thingys from 1955 Tomorrowland. All on a hand-woven silk backing under UV-protective plexiglass. You can view it on display at Disneyland starting July 17th...and maybe you'll own it!

I saw these neat collectibles earlier. Would love to own these!

Collectible plates that together recreate the original park map from back in 1955

How come no one told me H!P joined in on celebrating Tokyo Disney Resort's 25th anniversary? This is awesome! ;_;!

There's also a morning show in Japan (or a segment on a different show) called Disney Time. I found these two episodes with Tsuji I know Yossi's been on there too, but haven't been able to get a hold of her episode.

Exploring Tom Sawyer Island, Disneyland

Hot tip: Tom Sawyer Island is the only place in all of Tokyo Disney Resort where you can get milk shake!

At the Mermaid Lagoon, DisneySea. Meeting Ariel and eating sea-salt ice-cream (WOW THAT STUFF REALLY EXISTS... AND AT DISNEYLAND how fitting)

... I found a user on youtube who's uploaded a bunch of these Disney Time things !!! The videos with Dタイム in the title~ HERE

The Haunted Mansion inspires new film by Guillermo del Toro (the guy who directed Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy ++++)!!!

Quote from: Disneyparks Blog

The original Disneyland park attraction, the Haunted Mansion, that debuted in August of 1969 has now inspired a new film for The Walt Disney Studios by well-known filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.Announced at Comic-Con today, del Toro surprised thousands of fans with the news. In speaking about the new project, del Toro said, “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of my own adaptation of the original theme park attraction Walt envisioned and that remains- for me- the most desirable piece of real estate in the whole world!”

And there's a piece of artwork to go with the announcement;

Omg omg omg I couldn't be more excited! *_*; The Haunted Mansion is one of my absolute favourite rides, filled with atmosphere and happy haunts. I really do believe that del Toro will be able to capture that atmosphere on film

I hit Disney World in my late teens(Bootcamp in Orlando FTW), then didn't see Disney Land till early 30's. Went with a friends family to chaperone, cause he's all kinds of sick. Had an awesome time at both. DL was when the tower of terror was opening. We actually were on it before the actuall opening date(testing it on the unsuspecting).

The Disney parks celebrates their villains during Halloween, and this year is no exception. Who will be crowned the baddest villain of them all? Help decide~! Go vote for your favourite villain now! The nominees are;